Tag Archives: Butterfly

Post navigation

The Cockrell Butterfly Center (CBC) is most well known for its free-flying butterflies inhabiting a three-story indoor rainforest. But there are many other cool things to see and experience at the CBC! We checked with staff members and asked them about their favorite sections of the center, and this is what they said:

Lauren – Lauren is the butterfly entomologist and she takes care of the 800 to 1,000 imported butterflies we receive every week. Her staff picks are the chrysalis emergence chambers. The emergence chambers showcase thousands of live chrysalids of every size, shape and color imaginable! Many have gold spots or flecks. The word “chrysalis” comes from the Greek word for gold, “chrysós.” If you watch carefully you can even observe butterflies emerging, leaving an empty chrysalis shell behind, which they cling to while their wings stretch and dry.

Lauren stands next to the chrysalis chambers where you can watch butterflies as they emerge.

Erin – Erin is a board certified entomologist and is the insect zoo manager. She cares for all the non-butterfly bugs in the CBC. Her staff pick is the eastern lubber grasshopper sculpture found at the entrance of the entomology hall. The larger-than-life sculpture shows the anatomical details of the grasshopper’s body parts on one side, like the head, thorax, abdomen, wings and antennae. On the other side it shows a cross-section, displaying the insect’s internal organ systems. It’s a great visual introduction of what makes an insect, an insect.

Erin with the Eastern Lubber grasshopper sculpture you can enjoy in the CBC entomology hall.

Nancy – Nancy is the director of the CBC. Her staff-pick is spicebush caterpillar sculpture found in the entrance of the butterfly center. The giant caterpillar welcomes each visitor into the butterfly center and is a great opportunity for photos! It may seem cartoon-ish, but the sculpture is actually a very realistic representation of the caterpillar that can be found right here in Houston! The large eye-spots on the back of the caterpillar function to trick or scare away predators by making it appear like a bigger animal.

Nancy with the spicebush swallowtail caterpillar that greets guests as they enter the CBC.

Soni – Soni is the horticulturist that grows and cares for all of the plants in the CBC rainforest. Her staff pick is the Pride of Trinidad tree in the rainforest. The Pride of Trinidad (Warszewiczia coccinea) is native to Central and South America and the West Indies and is the national tree of Trinidad. The best part of this tree are its showy, flowering branches. Each flower cluster is accented with a red bract and is loaded with nectar. Inside the CBC rainforest, the Pride of Trinidad is in bloom year round and is constantly feeding a variety of butterflies!

Soni shows off a cluster of flowers on the Pride of Trinidad that feeds many of the butterflies in the CBC rainforest.

Ryan – Ryan is the CBC Bugs-On-Wheels outreach presenter. He travels to schools, day-cares, camps, and clubs to present a variety of bug-related topics (check them out here: Bugs-On-Wheels). His staff pick is the vinegaroon (Mastigoproctus giganteus). This scary looking arachnid is actually quite harmless and easy to handle. They get their name from their defense mechanism. If threatened, glands near the rear of the abdomen can spray acetic acid which has a vinegar-y smell and may dissuade predators from making the vinegaroon their lunch!

Ryan holds a vinegaroon showing their relatively docile nature.

Farrar – Farrar is the curatorial entomologist. He identifies and documents the thousands of species in the CBC’s entomology collection. His staff-pick is the beetle specimen display in the entomology hall. Beetle species make up almost 25 percent of all known animal species. They are found in almost all major natural habitats and are adapted to practically every kind of diet. The British biologist and atheist J.B.S. Haldane once said, when asked whether studying biology had taught him anything about the Creator: “I’m really not sure, except that He must be inordinately fond of beetles.” This quote lines the top of the beetle display in the CBC.

Farrar stands next to the beetle specimen display you can visit in the CBC entomology hall.

Celeste – Celeste is the butterfly rearing coordinator. She breeds and raises butterflies for the CBC. Her staff pick is Charro, the CBC’s resident iguana! Charro is a Green Iguana (Iguana iguana). Despite this name, he is actually bright orange! Green Iguanas can be a variety of colors depending on what region they come from. Charro can be found relaxing in his enclosure in the rainforest or sunning himself outside the butterfly center by the demo garden. After hours, Charro gets to wander the entire rainforest freely. Don’t worry about the butterflies; Charro is strictly vegetarian.

Celeste sits with Charro the iguana who resides inside the CBC rainforest.

Next time you visit the CBC make sure to check out all these staff picks, and take time to pick YOUR favorite part of the CBC!

In 1994, Dr. Nancy Greig inherited what was “basically a hole in the ground.”

More than 21 years later, the Cockrell Butterfly Center is a world-renowned exhibition, and Greig’s vision is a major part of the success of both the CBC and the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

As Greig puts it, getting the job “was just lucky.” Before moving back to Texas, Greig was wrapping up a year of postdoctoral studies at the University of Missouri-St. Louis where she was, in her words, “changing caterpillar diapers.”

Cockrell Butterfly Center Director Dr. Nancy Greig visits with a rice paper butterfly in the facility her efforts have made hugely popular.

“This professor I was working with was looking at the caterpillar fauna on three species of oak tree. After we collected them in the field it was my job to raise them in the lab so we could determine what species they were,” Greig said. “I had to get them fresh leaves and clean the containers out, so that’s why I called it changing caterpillar diapers. Pretty much you have to dump the ‘frass’ out every day.”

Greig’s background is a blend of tropical plant biology and entomology. She did her graduate work at the University of Texas, Austin, conducting research in Costa Rican rainforests under the supervision of Dr. Larry Gilbert, who studies tropical butterflies. Between receiving her Ph.D. and the postdoc position, Greig spent two more years in Costa Rica teaching a tropical ecology course, that was “like summer camp for graduate students – an amazing experience.” She was back in Austin for a Christmas visit in 1993 when her UT advisor remembered he had recently received a call about a position at HMNS.

“I thought I was going to be a University professor or something, and I was expecting another year or two of postdocs,” Greig said. “But I got in touch with the museum and they wanted me to come to Houston for an interview. Two weeks later, they called in St. Louis and asked, ‘How fast can you be here?’”

Greig’s field experience in Costa Rica gave her a leg up on the job; during her field work and subsequent teaching, she had spent plenty of time getting intimately familiar with the neotropical rainforest environment the museum wanted to craft in Houston.

When Greig first arrived in Houston, the Cockrell Butterfly Center was still under construction.

“It was a hard-hat zone,” she said. “There were cables and ropes everywhere. Some of the cement planters were in place, but not much else. The metal struts were up but there was no glass.

Greig educates students about plants as well as insects. In nature, the two forms of life depend on each other.

“It was so bare when we first opened, so of course it’s grown up [since then]. At first the plants were so small,” Greig said. But despite the bareness, “the first year, we had a millon people come through the butterfly center. It was a big deal, and kind of a trial by fire. I had never been on television or radio before, and we got plenty of press. I had to learn to talk in front of a camera!”

Her first duties were to help oversee the construction and work with the builders and the landscape architects. She also had to hire staff, get the butterfly importation permits, and create the museum’s first entomology hall. This precursor to the current Brown Hall of Entomology contained many preserved specimens but had lots of text and no interactive displays.

“People would go through the butterfly center first and then go up there – and the energy level just died,” Greig said. “There were some great specimens and some good information, but it was a very quiet, somber space.”

After several years, Greig and the Exhibits department began planning a bigger, brighter, vibrant entomology hall. Along with a couple of museum board members, they visited museums and zoos all over the country to see what others had accomplished and how to adapt the best qualities into one fun, educational hall. The result has been well-received.

Greig educates a student on butterfly identification at the CBC.

Gone were the static displays, replaced by interactive games, giant models and live arthropods. One of the biggest changes was to move the display cases closer to the ground, making the whole exhibit more kid-friendly and engaging.

The unveiling of the brand new Brown Hall of Entomology on July 1, 2007 was one of the highlights of Greig’s 22-year tenure as director, followed closely by the hysteria of Lois the corpse flower and “Cash for Cockroaches.”

In preparation for the opening of the new exhibit in 2007, the CBC offered to buy up to 1,000 cockroaches for 25 cents each from Houston residents to fill a feature of the hall, the Roach Dome. The public response was huge, and the story made the front page of the Houston Chronicle before jumping nationally and beyond with coverage from Reuters.

Lois similarly brought in a surge of media attention when the giant corpse flower showed hints of blooming in the summer of 2010. After being cared for and nurtured for years up in the greenhouses, Lois sprouted a slightly different stalk, sending the city of Houston into a three-week frenzy that culminated with her stinky bloom in July. Celebrity status was afforded to horticulturist Zac Stayton, a parody Twitter account was born, t-shirts and buttons were mass produced, and a documentary was made and released in the aftermath.

“It was so great for the museum; so great for Houston,” Greig said. “That is what the museum should be about. It was exciting and educational and fun. There was one woman who came over 30 times! At least once, sometimes twice a day!”

While Greig has always loved “creepy crawlies,” she has devoted her life to educating others about the positives bugs and arthropods provide to the world. She says that you can’t force that appreciation on people, but you can try to get through to them by asking them to imagine what the world would be like without them, among other tactics.

“I try to educate them with some fun stories and show that I’m not afraid. That there’s nothing to be afraid of. Seeing that someone can be totally comfortable with insects and spiders is important,” Greig said.

As an arthropod-lover, Greig believes all insects are important, and that even roaches are deserving of our love.

Greig herself is very enthusiastic about the evolution of many insects and their various adaptations for survival. The camouflage used by insects such as walking sticks and katydids really gets visitors thinking about how life got to this point, and Greig counts that as one of the must-sees of the Cockrell Butterfly Center. She is passionate about moving past the “creepy crawly” label as a result.

“It’s neat to be able to use the butterflies as the hook, the ambassadors, I would say, to bring people in, and then we help them to realize that bees and even cockroaches are important,” Greig added.

While Greig has always had a love of nature, she arrived at UT from Calgary ready to study linguistics. She says she took a circuitous route back to biology and that she is proof that “you can do really whatever you want to do.”

“It’s turned out to be really a perfect fit,” Greig said. “Running the Butterfly Center has been a great job for me. There are really not that many jobs like this. It was total serendipity.”

Visitors to the Cockrell Butterfly Center in October can see special plant life in the rainforest conservatory during the temporary exhibition, Savage Garden. And teachers hoping to meet Greig can mark their calendars for The Educator Event @HMNS Jan. 23, 2016, where she will give the keynote address. In addition, educators can book one of Greig’s Bugs On Wheels Outreach Programs, Monarchs or The Buzz About Bees.

Butterfly gardening is a great thing to do in the fall. Even though most butterflies will be settling down for the winter in the next few months, your garden will be ready with lots of host and nectar plants for next year’s butterflies. To get you started, the Houston Museum of Natural Science is hosting the Fall Plant Sale this Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon on Level 7 of the museum parking garage. And if you spend $30 or more, your parking is free!

Plants line the seventh floor of the Houston Museum of Natural Science parking garage, ready for the Fall Plant Sale Saturday, Sep. 26.

Most plants we offer are perfect for fall planting. Woody perennials such as salvias, duranta, lantana and many others are hardy for this area and benefit from going into the ground after the heat wave has passed and while the soil is still warm. As long as the root system has had enough time (about a month) to establish itself, the plants will be ready for winter.

Gomphrena Fireworks.

We’ve also got tips to help you maximize your planting season. For better overwintering, provide about two inches of mulch around the base of the plants and cut back the tall leggy growth to build plant strength and more roots. Also, when purchasing plants, you don’t always need to go for the plants with the most blooms. When planting something with a lot of flowers, the plant won’t put much effort into producing roots, which is what you want. Instead, they focus their energy on blooming and won’t be ready for winter. That means a lower chance of survival.

Calliandra.

So when you pick out plants, go for bushy, healthy-looking specimens not yet in full bloom. You can even cut the blooms off when you plant, which will increase your chances of success.

Bring your enthusiasm, your green thumb and your curiosity to the Fall Plant Sale at HMNS. We’ll see you there!

The Cockrell Butterfly Center (CBC) strives to bring the natural world to within the public’s reach. Visitors enjoy tropical plants and exotic animals exhibited throughout the indoor rainforest, insect zoo, and practical entomology hall, and as they wander through the CBC, they’re sure to ask tons of questions! To keep you informed, we’ve compiled a list of the top five most frequently asked questions about the CBC and answered them below. Take a look!

Q. Is that real?

A: It depends on what you are asking about.

Usually this question is asked about the chrysalids hanging in the emergence chamber. In that case, the answer is yes! All the chrysalids you see are real! We receive between 800 and 1,000 chrysalids per week. The chrysalids are carefully glued up so the butterflies can emerge in a natural position. If you look carefully, you may see the chrysalids wiggling. You can also observe the freshly emerged butterflies drying their wings. Twice a day, we collect the butterflies with fully dry wings and release them into the CBC rainforest. On Wednesdays until Labor Day weekend, you can watch how we do it during our Wing It! presentation.

These chrysalids are real! Soon butterflies will emerge from each one.

When this question is about the plants in the Rainforest Conservatory, the answer is also yes, but with one exception. All the plants are real except for the huge central tree. This tree contains the rainforest’s air circulation system. All others are living plants that are meticulously cared for by our staff horticulturalist, Soni Holladay. Each plant is labeled, so keep a lookout for a coffee tree, chocolate tree, pride of Trinadad, pineapple plants, miracle berry bush, and a variety of beautiful orchids.

Before and after the completion of CBC construction. All the plants in the CBC are real with the exception of the large central tree.

Q. How many butterflies are there in here?

A. We keep a collection of more than 1,500 live butterflies in the CBC rainforest at all times. It may seem like more or less, depending on how active the butterflies are. The butterflies are most likely to be actively flying and feeding when there is bright sunlight and warm weather. During these times, the whole rainforest feels like it’s fluttering around you. Early in the morning, or in cooler, overcast weather, many of the butterflies will be quietly roosting underneath leaves. During these times, a sharp eye will allow you to spot the sleeping butterflies all around you. Take this time to enjoy the variety of colors and patterns that are more easily discernible on butterfly wings that aren’t flying. Owl butterflies, however, are active at dusk. You can watch hundreds of them swirling in our rainforest during our limited-availability event An Evening With Owls, coming in September.

Shhhhhhhhhh! They’re sleeping! Look for roosting butterflies hanging from leaves next time you visit the CBC.

Q. Where do the butterflies come from?

A. We receive the butterflies in their pupal form (chrysalis) through the mail. Each week, we import up to 1,000 live chrysalids from butterfly farms in Central and South America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. We also raise a small portion of the butterflies in the greenhouses on the top level of the parking garage. We receive up to 150 different species of butterflies throughout the year. Use the butterfly identification guides as you enter the rainforest to help you identify some of our most common species!

Our butterflies are shipped from farms all over the world!

Q. What do the butterflies eat?

A. The CBC rainforest is always full of a variety of flowering plants. Most butterflies feed on nectar. Watch the butterflies visiting the blooms and you will notice them extending their proboscis into the center of the flower. They use this mouth part like a straw to draw up the nectar. Supplementary food is provided for the nectar-feeders in feeding stations filled with artificial nectar. Artificial nectar is made from a mixture of water, sugar and amino acids. It is soaked into sponges that the butterflies can visit to get an extra snack. But not all butterflies feed on nectar. Some prefer the juices from rotten fruit or tree sap. For the fruit-feeders we provide banana brew (fermenting bananas, sugar and beer mixture) as well as slices of over-ripe fruit. Butterflies are also known to feed on some less savory substances such and dead animals and feces.

A butterfly uses its proboscis to sip nectar from a flower.

Fun fact: butterflies also get essential nutrients by feeding on feces and carrion!

Q. How long do the butterflies live?

A. It depends. Most butterflies are not long-lived. The average life span for the butterflies in the CBC rainforest is about two weeks. Some, like the Atlas moth, only live a few days. Atlas moths don’t even have mouth parts as adults, so they don’t feed at all! They live off of the fat stores they accumulated as a caterpillar. Several of the long-wing species of butterflies may live up to a couple of months. Perhaps the most well-known species of butterfly, the Monarch, is known for its amazing migration from Canada to Mexico. The migratory generation of Monarchs can live between 6 and 9 months!

The Monarch butterfly has a long-lived generation that allows it to migrate from Canada to Mexico.

We hope you enjoyed our quick Q&A session! Drop by the CBC any time to satisfy your curiosity further. We’re always around to answer questions.